Pictures vs. Reality

Pictures vs. Reality

I hope you are all doing well, enjoying the summer heat & cold drinks!

Wait a second.. Why am I presenting an outfit consisting of longer pants and hoodie you may ask, is she crazy? Most likely. But the truth is that these pictures were taken in advance around the month of April & believe me or not I was freezing while creating these photos. And not only me, my dear friend who is responsible for the magic was as well.

So it fits the topic I want to talk about today perfectly.

I have been taking pictures for the blog and instagram for some time now and even though there obviously is still so much to learn and experience I do have funny stories and lessons learned already. We provide pictures of high quality, edited to perfection, with no people around, no funny faces, complaints, bags full of stuff necessary for the process are visible. However, the reality (as most of the time) is very different, and the truth is that, in my personal opinion with all the respect, this type of creating is not for everyone.

Let me explain. Let’s go through several points that include the reality of what it actually takes to take (yup, my vocabulary is indeed broad) the (as much as I hate this label) “insta&blog friendly” picture:

First of all: the people. I mean where is the shot from, there are barely no people if any at all and it still seems as a center of a bigger city! That’s something I was wondering when looking for the inspiration for the new spots where to shoot. Soon have I learnt that in order to find such a place you have to be 200% lucky & if you are not the lucky one then patience is your best friend and the closest ally.

There are always people.

I guarantee you that no matter how empty the place seems to be in the picture, it is most likely that it’s just as crowded as any other place in the world (if your not in the woods or somewhere far away of course)

So you have to wait, be very very patient, and also be ready to take action whenever the opportunity of a half minute of an empty street appears. Plus the most important part: you CANNOT be shy. Being shy will not give you the shot. It won’t help in any way because even if you manage to take the picture but was not comfortable the people who sees it later will feel it. And that’s not beneficial. I know that it is easier said than done sometimes, I promise I was shy too. I remeber the first time I went to shoot outside in public. I’ve chosen a park close to where I live where there is usually almost no one and we went early in the morning just to make sure it is less possible for us to meet ANYONE. Still I was so scared and shy, and very relieved once it was over. But you know what? That’s not the way. You should enjoy it. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been doing what I am doing and wouldn’t have invested so much time, work and effort in it.

So go, girl/boy, work it, earn it and own that shot! Like nobody is watching 🙂

Alright we have overcome the fear of being seen and watched by strangers, not mentioning all the people shouting, whistling, clapping their hands etc. and now let’s focus on the first world’s problem, and that’s who the hell is gonna take the pictures for me all the time?!

It sounds so stupid and it really is from a very surface point of view. But if you’re seriously trying to create something and there is nobody to help you make it happen, that sucks. Because you can’t take a full outfit picture of yourself by yourself. If I could do that I would, believe me! There is nothing worse than being so dependent on somebody else. That is probably the worst and most frustrating part.

And you know what that means. If you’re lucky enough to have friends and family members, or whoever to take the pictures for you, I’m telling you, treasure them and be grateful. Because, honey, you won the lottery.

Another aspect that people usually miss is the fact that weather changes and seasons are very much uncertain. You never know what you get. Especially here in the Czech Republic in the last couple of years. So basically you have to adjust all your plans to the weather which sometimes changes in the course of a second. Also 89% of the time when you look at the picture of me smiling or striking the pose in the light T-shirt looking so comfortable I am probably either freezing, sweating like crazy or soaking wet because it’s raining. But you gotta do what you gotta do. The passion is too strong. And that is how it’s supposed to be.

Also, do you see that tiny little bag I am carrying? Well, let’s just remind ourselves that there is a huge backpack on the spot you can’t see along with usually two other bags filled with three more looks that you have to shoot and a jacket because you’re so cold your fingers are probably gonna fall off real soon.

Oh and talking about shooting three looks at once have I mentioned that commonly the only possible way how to do that and not going back and forth to change, you change in public hidden somewhere behind the corner hoping that nobody will come from behind where your frined is not able to cover you? Cameras what?

There is so much more to the process of creating. I could keep typing for hours and hours.

For instance, another one of many and my “favourite”, being thrown out of places. That is the problem that we have to deal with on daily basis. How many times has that happened? I lost count. It is kind of adventure to be honest. Whenever we choose a place and go there to shoot there is this question, are we gonna make it happen or not?

And last but definitely not least the fact that you get to see approximately ten photos that I choose to share here on the blog and one or two presented on instagram. But there are many more pictures taken before those ten ones worth sharing are captured. We take a hundred of photos and the last one is usually THE one. That’s the law, people.

And why am I sharing all this?

Nothing is perfect. Not as far as the process is concerned at least. I used to be so insecure because I saw all the perfect pictures which seem like no effort was required. You just go and take the pic, it’s that simple right? But it is not true. Not at all. There is a story behind every picture. And believe me that no matter how effortless and perfect it seems it probaby took a lot of time and patience. So keep going and don’t let the difficulities prevent you from doing what you enjoy. At the end of the day the obstacles are the ones that make it all fun.